Unapproachable
by wildfire-200
Summary: Jacqueline Taylor is the bratty popular girl in school. She's stuck up and self-centred. But is it possible that there's something she's hiding? Critiqes are 100% welcome. 1st chapter's been rewritten and the second one should already be up.
1. Chapter 1

_**Unapproachable**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Last day of freedom**_

It was early morning on the last day of summer when Darren felt something poke him. He decided to ignore it and laid still. He was poked a few more times until, finally, it stopped. He sighed in relief and turned around in his bed, trying to go back to sleep. He jumped out of bed when something cold was poured on to him.

He heard laughter and when he looked up he saw a tan girl with dirty blond hair and green eyes. It was his older sister. She was holding her stomach with one hand and an empty bucket with the other.

'Seriously Nelly? It's the last day of summer break. Why couldn't you just let me sleep till noon?' Darren rumbled sleepily.

'Because I love annoying you. And besides you promised to hang out with Liam today.' Darren just looked confused.

'Liam? Your best friend? You remember him right?' Nelly teased her brother.

Darren just grunted and pushed his sister out of his room. Then he plopped back onto his bed. He was just beginning to drift off again when his sister's voice called his name again. That's when he gave up and started getting ready for the last day of summer vacation.

Darren Hales had a pretty good life. He was quite handsome – tan complexion, black hair, dark brown eyes and really fit. A lot of girls wanted to be with him and a lot of guys wanted to be him. Contrary to what you might think, he didn't like that. He didn't like it when he turned out to be the popular guy after just a few days in his latest school. He didn't like all the attention and all those fake smiles. Not to mention the amount of people who were constantly getting in his way in hopes of increasing their popularity. It was annoying when people wouldn't leave him alone. Unfortunately, once you're on top of that high school social ladder, it's like you can't get down, not on purpose at least. No matter what you do, people will laugh it out, ignore what you've said or just misunderstand. It's strange isn't it? One little mistake and your reputation crumbles but when you try to tear it down on purpose, there's always something to prevent it. Well, no. That's complete nonsense. Although it seemed to be true in Darren's case.

Darren knew that people would kill to have his life and quite frankly, if it was just for school, he wouldn't mind swapping lives with someone else. But then there was his family. His proud father, Eric, loving mother, Darla, and smart-alec of an older sister, Nelly. He loved them all and he would never give them up for anything in the world. Although there were times when his sister made him wonder if he was a hundred percent sure about that.

When Darren got downstairs he was hit with the smell of delicious food. He went into the kitchen and saw a few plates with pancakes on them. Just as he was about to take one, his hand was slapped away. His sister's face came into view once again. Nelly rolled her eyes at her clueless brother.

'Don't you have somewhere to be?' Nelly asked her brother as she looked at him pointedly.

'What?' Darren asked with an irritated look on his face. He wanted his pancakes!

Nelly gave out an exasperated sigh. 'Did you hit your head or something? You promised to spend the day with Liam! You remember, don't you?'

'Of course I do.' Darren told his sister, who just looked at him with her signature I'm-not-buying-this look.

'Of course you do.' Nelly imitated him sarcastically.

'You know what? I'll just go outside where it's slightly less sarcastic.' the younger teen said as he pointed to the door.

'Or you could keep you promise to Liam and go get him.' She suggested as if she was talking to an idiot. 'If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had amnesia.'

'I hate it when you nag me.' He murmured, annoyed out of his wits.

'I know. That's why I love doing it so much!' She said as she pinched Darren's cheek playfully and ran away laughing.

Darren was still staring after his sister when a tan, petite woman with dark wavy hair and green eyes walked in. It was Darla, Darren's mom. He turned to her.

'Are you sure she's the older one?' She laughed slightly before answering.

'Honey, I think we would've noticed if you were born first.' Then she started laughing even harder. Darren hated it when his parents did that, especially when both of them were in the same room. They always had these inside jokes and then they would laugh while he and Nelly just looked at them, confusion written all over their faces.

'Right, well I'm off.' Darren said as he quickly swallowed a whole pancake, nearly chocking on it, and ran outside to his car. Right before Darren entered the car he saw a tall, brown-eyed, blond man who was in pretty good shape doing something on the roof.

'Be careful Eric! You might fall off!' Darren yelled, trying to annoy his stepfather.

'You could just call me 'dad' you know?' the older man yelled back, panting slightly.

'Yeah, yeah.' Darren said offhandedly as he got in his car and drove off.

For some strange reason driving his black Impala relaxed him to no end. Sure, the thing used to be his grandfather's but it still purred like a kitten. It rode smoothly over the heated asphalt and it barely ever gave him any trouble. The Impala had only been repaired once. It was after Darren's biological father had a car accident and passed away. Darren didn't like to think about that day, or the day after. He didn't like to think about the whole six months afterwards. It had been torturous. He had felt like he needed to stay strong for his mother and sister so he'd hid his sadness and let it tear him apart on the inside. That had gone on for four months after the car crash. When he finally let it all out, his mother and sister had calmed him down, took care of him and comforted him. In the end he realized that he still had people that loved him. It wasn't the end of the world. So he decided he would just look forward to tomorrow. He wouldn't let himself fall into depression.

As time went by, Darren started to realize that the car was his only connection to his father since it had belonged to the man before it was passed down to Darren. Now, whenever the young man felt stressed, insecure or just needed to relax, he would get in his beloved Impala and drive around for hours.

Darren didn't even realize he had stopped until there was a knock on the passenger's seat window. He jumped slightly as he was pulled away from his thoughts. When he looked to his right he saw his best friend's concerned eyes. He let out a sigh in relief and opened the door for the other boy.

'Dude, jumpy much?' Liam asked in his British accent as he got in the passenger's seat.

Darren chuckled inwardly at the way Liam said it. His friend was always like that. Constantly happy and carefree. His looks suited his personality. Liam was a tall blond with naturally tanned skin and cerulean eyes. He wasn't as muscular or as tall as Darren but he still had a very nice physique. The blond had stuck by Darren's side ever since the two had met in kindergarten. Both he and Darren were on the 'soccer' team at school. Darren was aiming to become co-captain of the team or maybe even head-captain, if he got lucky enough. And Liam? He was the goal-keeper. He was the best goalie in their whole town. It was safe to say that their coach had no intention of kicking them out of the team any time soon.

'Hello? Earth to Darren Hales? You still there mate?' The bubbly blond said in a teasing voice as he wildly waved both of his hands in front of Darren's face. The later laughed loudly and pushed the slightly smaller boy away playfully.

'Yeah, I'm here. So anyway what are we doing today?' The darker teen asked curiously.

'Well I was thinking we should do everything we possibly can. Like freeing all 10 of old McAlister's vicious dogs…' Liam trailed off at Darren's incredulous look.

'What? It's our last day before we're pushed into the prison known worldwide as high school. I thought we might as well spend it being as reckless as possible while we're not buried under heaps of homework.' The blond said defensively.

'Yeah, only if we do that, we might end up in actual prison!' Darren exclaimed. He wasn't scared of getting in trouble with his parents, teachers, neighbors, etc. But getting in trouble with the authorities was a completely different matter.

'Man, I hate it when you get responsible.' Liam whined.

'Yeah, well that's what's kept us in one piece all these years.' Darren said calmly as he started the car.

'Good point.' The blond said as he slouched in his seat, pouting.

Darren just laughed at his friend's antics and drove off. He was surprised that Liam managed to sit quietly in the passenger seat for five whole minutes before he started blabbering about anything he could think of.

The blond looked at him strangely when he burst out laughing. Thankfully he managed to keep the car steady. He didn't want to hurt his friend. On the other hand, Liam started asking him why he'd laughed. Darren didn't want to tell him because the blonde's reaction was unpredictable. One time these kinds of things would just roll off his back. However, other times he'd take them seriously and get self-conscious.

Darren liked how Liam acted so he tried to ignore the blonde's pestering. Somehow he managed to tune out his friend until they got to the beach. Darren parked the car and got out.

When the British boy saw where they were he immediately forgot what had happened and happily bounded off toward the clear blue sea, leaving Darren in his dust.

'I'm getting something to eat. You want anything?' Darren yelled to his excited friend.

'And waste valuable swimming time? No way!' Liam yelled back as he made a bee-line toward the clear blue waters of the sea. Or attempted to at least.

Darren watched amused as his friend jumped and tripped over towels and people. He felt sorry for the umbrella that was unfortunate enough to have collided with Liam's tall frame. Darren didn't feel all that surprised when he saw it didn't even faze the blonde. Liam was a headstrong person. Once he decides something, nothing can stop him.

'Although,' Darren thought, 'it would've been easier to have just gone around the umbrella, not through it.'

Darren kept an eye on his friend until he disappeared from sight. He chuckled under his breath and headed to the hot dog stand. **"Best Dogs in the City"** read the sign on the front of the stand. It was a wonder how those people got any costumers. Thankfully, the hot dogs they made really were great so they made up for the bad sign.

Darren was heading back to his best friend after having just bought two hot dogs when said friend crashed right in to him.

'See what you made me do now? I dropped the hot dogs…' Darren slowly trailed off as his friend hid behind him, obviously distressed.

'Dude, what's wrong?' The bigger teen asked getting concerned.

'I may have dropped ice-cream on the Ice Queen.' Liam said in a high-pitched voice as he tried to completely hide himself behind Darren.

'You what?' Darren yelled out incredulously. 'Are you trying to get us both killed?'

'It wasn't my fault! I-I was just walking around with ice-cream in my hand when this beach ball hit me on the head and I tripped and I dropped the ice-cream a-a-and i-i-it drop-dropped on top of h-her.' Liam spit out as quickly as possible and Darren got scared the boy might start hyperventilating right there.

'Ok, ok. Just try to calm down, alright?' Darren comforted his friend while trying to find a good hiding spot. After all, nobody wanted to face the Ice Queen's wrath.

The two boys could hear swearing in the distance.

'This is bad. This is bad! Oh this is so very, very bad.' Derek thought frantically as he looked around their surrounding in hopes of finding something that could hide both him and Liam.

The enraged yelling was getting closer and closer. Darren, taking desperate measures, hid behind a stone bench nearby and pulled Liam down next to him. Thankfully the bench was just in the right position to block them from sight. Of course they had to get in some...uncomfortable positions, but it didn't matter as long as the "Ice Queen" didn't spot them.

A few seconds passed and they could see the so called "Ice Queen". She was actually quite beautiful. Medium height, pretty face with freckles adorning the area across her nose. Full pink lips and a pale complexion. Blondish wavy hair cascaded down her back and shoulders. Her cold, angry aquamarine eyes kept darting over the place in search of a culprit. Her glare was impressively intimidating and, despite her smaller frame, a lot of big guys were afraid of her. Yet she was by no means buff and she was in no way fragile. She was, however, the captain of the swimming and female football team and she was also the football team's replacement coach. It was a mystery how she stayed petite. An even bigger mystery was how her grades stayed high despite all the sports she played.

'That's Jacqueline Taylor for you. She's beautiful, athletic and a royal pain in the butt.' Derek summed up in his mind. He was right. Jacqueline was the most popular girl in school but she was also a stuck-up, self-centered little brat. She was rolling in money and she got everything she wanted. However, her personality pushed people away.

As she walked on angrily Darren could barely keep his laughter in. The sight of her trembling with anger, melted ice-cream flowing from her hair down her face and dripping from her chin was absolutely priceless. The comic effect of the situation was increased by the way she stumped away furiously.

The moment she was gone a loud roar of laughter filled the air. Both Liam and Darren were doubled over from laughing. The people walking by were either sending wondering gazes or criticizing glares in the boys' direction. By the time their loud laughter finally died down they could hardly breathe.

'OK, let's get out of here before you do something like this again.' Darren managed in between his still fading laughter. Liam didn't protest. He couldn't. He was still laughing too hard.

After a while the two boys were sitting in Darren's car chatting away, having calmed down completely by then.

'Where to now?' Darren asked the blonde while starting the car.

'I don't know. Anyplace without beach balls and little miss pissed would be nice.' Liam replied looking nervously out of the car's window.

Darren lifted an eyebrow at him. 'Little miss pissed?' He asked with an incredulous look in his eyes.

'Well she was pretty damn pissed after I dropped my ice-cream on her. And what's the deal with that anyway? She's the Ice Queen right? Shouldn't ice-cream power her up or something?' An animated Liam rambled on as he motioned wildly with his hands.

Darren just laughed at his friend's antics and started driving. They just drove around for a few hours until Liam's stomach started protesting against being deprived of food for too long. Darren chuckled quietly and pulled up at the first diner he spotted as his own stomach gave out a growl of its own.

When they got out of the car the smaller of the two boys started laughing uncontrollably. When Darren asked him what was so funny all he got was a finger pointing to the diner. When the larger boy looked at the building he couldn't help but feel slightly stupid. That was because of the huge neon sign right above the diner's entrance. **"The Diner". **That was written on it.

'Honestly, it's things like this that make me ashamed of this town.' Darren said as he shook his head with an irritated expression on his face. 'People here have no sense of originality.'

'What are you talking about dude? This is very original. I mean where else can you find a diner called **"The Diner"**?' Liam said, already walking toward the entrance. He was still giggling. And for once the British boy actually made sense. In that weird, inconceivable way of his. Darren chuckled once again and followed his friend inside.

They kept on chatting and fooling around until a waitress came up to them. As they were ordering she kept on flirting with Darren. He just smiled politely at her until she left. When he looked at his friend he was met with a fake glare.

'What?' the darker teen asked confused.

'This is why I don't like going out for coffee with you. The girls only ever notice you! It's like I'm invisible around you.' Liam explained as he playfully punched Darren's shoulder. They both laughed afterwards and just kept joking around. They didn't even pause when the waitress brought their food. They ate quickly and took off in the Impala again.

Once again they were just driving around, exploring their town. Despite the fact that they knew nearly every inch of it.

They kept it up for quite a long time. By the time they got to Liam's house the sun was already setting.

'See you later mate. I'd invite you inside but you know how my parents get if I'm not in bed extra early on the night before the first day of torture – school. I meant to say school.' Liam said as he got out of the car.

'Yeah. See you tomorrow.' Darren said. 'And don't forget to wait for me in front of the school's entrance this time.' He added, sending a pointed look to Liam.

'That happened only once! And it was an accident ok? I saw a butterfly and I just had to catch it. I HAD TO!' The blonde said franticly, afraid that his best mate was mad at him.

Darren laughed at his friend's distraught look. 'I was just pulling your leg. Come on Liam. You know I'm not one to hold a grudge. Especially not at my friend.' He said, trying to comfort his friend.

Liam glared at Darren. 'That was not funny.' The blonde huffed and smiled mischievously a second later. 'See you tomorrow, mate.' He said with a cheerful tone as the two bumped fists.

Darren headed off home as soon as he saw Liam enter his house. Sometimes his friend got a crazy idea and in stead of going home like intended he'd just run off somewhere. And then the whole neighbourhood would spend all day looking for him.

When he got to his house Eric was just coming down from the roof. When the older man saw his adopted son he waved to the teen. He got a small smile in return.

'Well, it's not much but it's an improvement.' Eric thought as he entered the house.

Darren carefully parked his beloved Impala and followed his stepfather. He grinned at the sight that greeted him in the kitchen. His sister was on babysitting duty again and was currently trying to feed an adorable little girl some kind of orange mush. Nelly was failing terribly as the little girl just kept turning her head away from the spoon. Darren laughed whole-heartedly when the girl pouted and threw a pillow at his distressed sister. Nelly turned toward her brother and mouthed _'Help me'_. He took the bowl and spoon from his sister and took a mouthful of the mush himself.

'Wow, this is delicious.' Darren said with a convincing expression. 'If you don't want it, I'll eat it myself.' He said as he pretended to take the mush away from the girl. She yelped loudly and quickly took the bowl from Darren. After which she proceeded to eat the mush his sister had made.

Darren smiled at her and Nelly just threw herself on the chair behind her. Soon the little girl was fast asleep on the couch, now clutching an empty bowl in her small hands. Both teens had to smile at the sight. Darren picked the girl up and carried her to their guestroom on the second floor. There was no way they would let a child sleep on the couch. They tucked her in and went back downstairs. The two of them fell down on the couch, both having had a long, exhausting day.

'Since when were you so good with kids?' Nelly turned to her brother.

'Since I got used to being around Liam.' Darren answered.

'That actually makes sense.' His sister chuckled.

'You two better stop chatting and head up to bed. You both have school tomorrow.' A soft but stern voice said from behind them. They turned and came face to face with their determined mother. Both teens sighed dejectedly and got up.

'Yes mom.' They said in unison. It was quite creepy actually. They sounded a lot like robots. Darla followed her children up the stairs and watched them go into their rooms. Normally they put up a fight before going to bed. But then again, Darren never spent all day hanging out with his friend and Nelly never spent the whole day babysitting.

Darla headed to her room and chuckled to herself as she remembered how hectic it had been with the little girl. The kid would start jumping from the couch to the table and then to any other piece of furniture she could reach. Nelly would just run after the girl, begging her to get down and just watch TV or something. It was really amusing to watch. And watch Darla did. She wasn't worried because she had watched over the child once and as energetic as the little one was, she was no idiot. She'd never do anything if she knew she'd get hurt.

Darla went to bed. Soon she felt it dip behind her and strong arms wrapped around her.

Everything was quiet at the Hales house that night. Little did they know that the next day would be a lot more eventful.

**Critiques are welcome because I really need to improve. **


	2. Chapter 2

_**Unapproachable**_

_**Chapter 2**_

'_**What was that?'**_

It would be an understatement to say that Darren was grouchy when his alarm clock started ringing the next morning. His eyes were burning and he felt too tired to move. Even sitting up in his bed seemed like too much of an effort. Just the thought of doing an action as trifling as standing up made him nauseous. He finally forced himself into a standing position after ten minutes of grunting and struggling. He stood in the same place for several seconds swaying from side to side, trying to straighten up. Once he realized that was impossible he started making his way to the bathroom. He couldn't make two steps without stumbling. Unfortunately the teen had forgotten the bathroom door was closed and walked right into it. He staggered back and rubbed his nose. Then he went back to the door and leaned on it, resting his forehead on the cool wooden surface. He reached blindly for the door-handle. Once his hand finally grabbed hold of the handle, it seemed to go numb.

Darren slowly felt himself drifting back into his dream world when a shrill ringing cut through the air like a knife. He started straight up, letting out a 'manly' scream. The teen frantically looked around his room, trying to find the blasted alarm clock. It was definitely his sister's doing. Nelly would always do something to make sure he didn't fall back asleep in the morning. She always came up with something new every single year. And when she was too lazy to come up with something she would always use 'the shriller'. That's what she called the alarm clock. It was in her top three most affective methods.

A short while passed before Darren finally found the wicked clock in his bathroom. He rolled his eyes once he realized that not only had Nelly woken him up for good, but she had also made sure he'd get on with his getting-ready-for-school routine.

Darren turned the alarm off and hid it in his own top secret place. He brushed his teeth, washed his face and tried to put his hair in order. Heavy emphasis on 'tried'. Soon he gave it up and went to change. Once he was done he hurried down the stairs to the first floor. The old staircase creaked with each and every step he made. The moment he got off the staircase he was shushed. He looked up and locked eyes with his sister.

'What?' Darren asked loudly only to get shushed again. There was more anger behind it this time.

'Stop shushing me!' Darren couldn't understand why his sister's expression had turned from anger to worry.

'Be quiet!' Nelly whispered urgently as she ran over to her brother and clamped her hand over his mouth.

'Why?' It was muffled but she still understood.

'Little girl, light sleeper, in a room right next to stairs.' She whispered again, trying to make the explanation as short as possible.

'Ok? Why you talk this way?' Darren tried to imitate her.

'Because I have to be at school extra early today.'

Darren looked at her.

'What?'

Nothing.

'What is it Darren?' It was annoying.

Suddenly something wet slid over her palm. Nelly jumped away with a disgusted look on her face.

'Gross!'

'Shush.' Darren whispered loudly as he put a finger to his mouth.

'Don't you shush me!' She glared at him, cradling her hand as if it had been burned.

'Yeah, yeah. What's for breakfast?' Darren walked to the kitchen, chuckling to himself.

'You know, if you weren't my brother, I'd let you starve to death.' Nelly wiped her hand on Darren's shirt as he walked past her.

She shot him an incredulous look when he pulled a disgusted face.

'Seriously? You lick my hand and yet you find it disgusting when I wipe it off?'

'Yeah, when you wipe it off on me I do!'

'It's your spit!' Nelly yelled as quietly as possible.

'Quiet!' A deep third voice yelled in a whispered.

The two siblings looked up at their stepfather. Eric's somewhat short hair was unruly, each blond strand sticking up in its own direction. His brown eyes were tired and it was obvious he was fighting to keep them open. He was shivering lightly. He was always cold in the first thirty minutes after he got out of his warm, comfy bed and away from his warm, beautiful wife.

The grown man glared drowsily at his adopted children. He loved them like they were his own, however he certainly did not appreciate being woken up at six in the morning on the one day he was off work. Eric worked as a mechanic and he was damned good at what he did. He was the one who had fixed Darren's Impala after the accident. The truth was that Eric and Darla's deceased husband had been the best of friends before the crash. The two of them had both loved Darla at some point. However, Darla had made her choice and Eric had stepped down. Then the love birds left town and Eric found himself moving on. Unfortunately Eric's wife, Veronica, had left him for reasons he never quite understood. Then the Hales moved back into town. The two best friends had finally reunited and Eric had gotten attached to the kids. He'd been like an uncle to them.

That had been when Darren was around ten years old and Nelly was thirteen. But then, nearly a year after the family had moved back, their father, Randy, got in a car accident. Randy hadn't died immediately. Eric didn't know whether it was for better or worse. Yes, Darla and the kids had managed to say their goodbyes. However it must've been torture to see Randy, a strong and loving father, in such a fragile state. When Randy fell into a coma, the doctors had tried to explain to Darla that it'd be better to pull the plug. She hadn't listened. Unfortunately, Randy had left that decision up to his best friend. Eric, after having the doctors explain to him that Randy's brain was no longer functioning, had decided to do it. Darla couldn't stand to look at him after that. However, when she had seen just how broken up Eric was at Randy's funeral, she'd forgiven him. From then on they comforted each other and soon, their feelings grew.

Eric knew Darla would never love him as much as she had loved Randy. Nobody can ever replace your first real love. He respected that. As long as he had his own special place in her heart, he'd be satisfied.

Eric was pulled from his thoughts when he felt something hit him square in the face. An apple fell on the floor in front of him and rolled away. Eric turned his wide eyes at Darren and Nelly. Darren was munching at his cereal and Nelly was in the middle of preparing her own breakfast. Both teens were looking at him as if he had lost his mind. So maybe he was exaggerating a bit. But come on. They were teenagers. Every expression of theirs looked exaggerated.

'What was that for?' Eric yelled, throwing his hands up. He realized his mistake when both his children shushed him. And to think he had come down to scold them for being too loud.

'Just … keep it quiet. Okay?' He whispered and climbed up the staircase, trying to hide his reddening face. The last thing he heard before he got to his and Darla's bedroom was giggling.

'Well that was amusing.' Nelly said as she set her breakfast on the table.

'It certainly was.' Darren, once again, tried to imitate her 'posh' language.

'Shut up and eat your cereal.'

Darren snickered but did as told. Nelly always gave him a ride to school as long as he was ready before she left. Otherwise, well, you could say Darren knew just how long a walk it was from his house to his school. He never brought his Impala to school because he was scared someone might steal it. It's not that the school was in a bad neighbourhood. It was far from it. But the students of Clearwater High pulled quite the extreme pranks. Bring a shiny car at school and you might never find it again. Most students used their parents' cars. And others just rented some crappy looking car that could get them from point A to point B.

Usually Darren and Nelly were neither. Since their stepfather was a mechanic, they got to use the cars he was working on. It was crazy how many people had super expensive cars. It was even crazier that they took it to a mechanic when there was nothing wrong with it. It was almost like they were leaving their child with a babysitter. Unfortunately Nelly and Darren never got to take the 'Vipers' to school. Oh no. Instead, they had to take some beat-up old car that was from multiple brands, if you know what I mean. Yes, it was crappy but it was safe too. Then there were those brighter, happier days when their mother let them use her car.

The siblings ate their breakfast quickly and went outside to the car. They were happy to see it was one of those happy days. A magnificent red Ford Flex was parked outside. It was their mother's pride and joy. Even though she didn't know the first thing when it came to cars, she still loved her Ford. But that was mostly because it was red and big and could fit her whole family in it plus three more people. Now you might be wondering why Nelly and Darren weren't afraid of taking such a cool car to school. Well, once in the past, someone had tried to steal Darla's Ford. I'll spare you the gruesome details and just say that they didn't get away with just a warning. In other words, the big, red Ford Flex was off limits for all except Nelly, Darren and, occasionally, Liam.

Darren and Nelly threw their bags in the back seat and took off. Then Nelly remembered something.

'Hey, weren't we supposed to pick Liam up on the way there?' It seemed even her brother wasn't sure.

'Let's swing by, just in case he's waiting for us.' Nelly said after a few minutes of Darren's silence.

'Yeah, that's good idea.'

'Of course it is. It's my idea we're talking about here.' Nelly snickered when Darren smacked her lightly on the shoulder.

'Shut up and watch the road.'

Nelly started driving in the direction of Liam's house.

Even though Liam's family wasn't the richest one around, their house was really big. It's been passed down for generations and Liam will be its rightful owner once he turns 18. Although he never liked big houses he was going to keep it for his parents. And who knows? Maybe when he reaches his forties he'll appreciate it a hell of a lot more.

Liam's house was big and white. There was a beautiful garden in the front and a mini pond in the back. They had a gorgeous fluffy white dog with the most adorable brown eyes. The dog's name, as cheesy as it may sound, was Snow for obvious reasons. She was playful and friendly. So what if she was kind of dense? She had her way of protecting her territory. And nobody got to mess with her master Liam on her watch! She loved the boy to death and she was also quite protective. Snow was a good judge of character too. If she thought of anyone as a threat to her home and pack, she did her best to chase them out.

Said dog was very happy to hear the familiar growl of an unknown creature. Mostly because a Hales usually entered the yard right after the growling stopped. And even though Snow had never seen the creature that emitted the growling, the sound never scared her for she knew that it wasn't a threat.

The 'growl' of the engine came to a stop and the big white gates that lead to the front yard opened. Excited, Snow bolted outside to greet her human friends. Her tail wagged furiously as she barked happily at Darren and Nelly. She ran a few circles around them and suddenly went back inside, as if to inform her master of his guests. The siblings couldn't help but laugh at the dog's antics. She was one hyperactive blur most of the time. But, then again, she wouldn't be Liam's dog if she wasn't hyperactive.

Darren and Nelly got worried when Snow came back with her tail swaying limply at her legs as she walked to her dog house, ears flat against her fluffy head. They looked up at the entrance to see a woman standing there. She was pure mother material, like the classic mother from those old American sitcoms. She was medium height and a bit plump. She had honey blond hair and warm brown eyes. Her whole aura was welcoming. She was Liam's mother and her name was Tara. She was overprotective and whenever anyone messed with her family she saw red. She even got into a fight with another mother once. But that's a different story.

'Good morning, Mrs. Willson,' Darren said. Anyone who knew Tara Willson respected her. 'Where's Liam?' He asked curiously.

'Liam's sick and in bed with a fever. He won't be coming to school with you today.' That was when Nelly and Darren noticed the medicine in her hands. Even though Tara sounded concerned, the teenagers found it suspicious that she kept glancing anxiously at the sky every once in a while. It was as if she was waiting for something.

'Oh. Well, OK. We'll be going then,' was the awkward reply. Nelly and Darren decided they shouldn't pester her. After all, she was a protective mother, whose son was sick and with a high fever. They thought it'd be better not to set her off.

'I'll see you kids around,' Tara told them as she hurried back inside.

Darren and Nelly shared a confused look and started walking toward their car. They were both curious as to why Snow had come out of the house so dejected. They hadn't heard any yelling and they knew that the Willson family wasn't one to abuse their pets. Darren and Nelly couldn't help but wonder.

The two got in their car and drove off. Just as Nelly took a turn to the right they saw something that made their jaws hit the floor.


End file.
